Rainy Days Are Sometimes Better
by RoseMuse
Summary: Gintama drabbles! Genfic, for the most part, although there may be some vague shipping. Be warned, there are some manga spoilers throughout.
1. Names

_I've had these drabbles sitting around for a while. I'm still not fully satisfied with them, lol. I find writing for Gintama a little difficult sometimes? But. Just decided to post them anyway._

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><p>"You don't have a name?" The man asked.<p>

They sat out upon the deck of the inn, leisurely nibbling at manju, watching the sky as the sun went down and stars gradually appeared.

The small boy slowly shook his head, a tangle of unusual, silvery-white curls.

"How about… Gin? Ginmaru? Gintarou? Gintoki?" The man went on. "Is that alright?"

"Gintoki." The boy spoke up very quietly with a tiny smile.

It had been a day or two, but it was the first time Shoyou had heard the boy speak. "Gintoki, then." He said firmly.

It was better than being a demon.


	2. Ice Cream

Kagura had thrown herself dramatically over the back of the couch - flopping forward in a corpse-like fashion.

"Ngggggggggghhhhhhh." She whined in an utterly non-dead-person-like way. Eventually lifting her head to glower over at the instigator of her frustration.

"Why can't we have ice cream?" She asked Gintoki again for the tenth time in ten minutes.

Finally giving up his pretense of not having heard her, he swung his chair around from the window to face the living room.

"Well I want it too, of course. But when you're an adult, you have to sacrifice some things." Gintoki waved a hand, attempting to dispel the conversation quickly. He still had a headache with his hangover and spending the rest of the day sleepily kicking back and reading Jump seemed like an extremely appealing course of action.

"So the pachinko parlor you blew your money on last night is more important than ice cream?" Kagura asked.

"It's a dangerous risk I'm willing to take." He levelly kept the upper hand in the conversation. "Just think, if I get double the money, we could buy two weeks' worth of ice cream."

"But you never win anything." Kagura said flatly.

His temper began to bubble to the surface. Just slightly.

"Well, maybe if we had more jobs, which we've been so short on lately, we might be able to get more ice cream!" He retorted.

"Fine!" Kagura stood, stomping off to the entranceway. She grabbed her umbrella from the holder and pulled on her shoes. Sadaharu woke from his nap in the corner and followed her.

"Oi, where are you going?" He asked.

"To find us a job to buy ice cream!" She replied, before opening and slamming the sliding door behind her so hard that he was pretty sure the whole upper frame of the building rattled.

"I probably could have handled that a bit better." He admitted aloud to himself.

It was Shinpachi's day off and he was busy with fan club duties. But Gintoki was sure he would have been equally disappointed.

Sighing, he dragged himself to his feet and out the door as well.

A quick job…

Following the familiar buzzings and clinkings of machinery, Gintoki soon arrived at the garage.

"Hey, Old Man!" He called out. "Got anything for me to do?"

Gengai removed his soldering mask and waved a still-flaming blowtorch, "Oh! Gintoki. You're just in time to try out this hovering vending machine!"

A few hours later of boring wiring and repeatedly being doused in soy sauce, he made it back to the Yorozuya shop. But not so empty-handed this time around.

Kagura and Sadaharu hadn't made it back yet, so he took the time to wash up a little. It wasn't long before heard the front door slide open, however.

He called out from the washroom, briefly grimacing at his fluffy hair in the mirror as he toweled it dry. "So, did you find anything?"

"Kinda." Kagura mumbled as she walked by. "I walked a lady's dogs, but Sadaharu wound up trying to hump one of them and she refused to pay me."

Sadaharu, in question, was curled up morosely on the front porch. Gintoki 'tsk-ed' at him, "I'll have a chat with you later. And I have a job for you." Gintoki announced, turning to Kagura. He gestured at several tubs of ice cream on the desk. "I could use a little assistance with these."

"Ice cream!" Kagura's eyes lit up. She practically hopped up to the desk and immediately began eating one. With her bare hands. "I call chocolate!" She said through another mouthful.

"You're already eating chocolate." Gintoki pointed out, joining her. "I call dibs on all the strawberry, though."

He had more presence of mind to grab a spoon, but, as he did, a sticky hand lightly grabbed his arm.

"Thanks, Gin." Kagura said.

"Nah, I was just going through sugar withdrawals and realized I had to do something about it after all." He settled himself on the desk next to where she sat.

"Hmm. There should be just enough for two people." He counted out the tubs. "Definitely not enough for Pachi."

"He probably gets tired of all of the Bargain Dash his sister brings home, anyway." Kagura added, starting on her second helping.

"So tired." Gintoki nodded.

Kagura grinned.


	3. Coffee

There's a western-style diner not far from the barracks, run by a pleasant woman in her fifties who always remembers his order: black eye with cream.

Hijikata is by no means a morning person, but there is a schedule and an order to be maintained. Even if it means nearly throttling Yamazaki when he feels the need to inundate him with reports at six a.m. sharp.

When he finally has a moment free, and if he's not needed immediately on a case, he'll make a run for the next street, first cigarette of the day between his teeth. Soon joining the handful of similarly half-awake salarymen at the counter.

And, at least for a comfortable half an hour, he can take a deep breath, look out the window and watch the sun rise between the tall, city buildings, illuminating the waking streets.


	4. Smile

It had been a week and things still felt strange. Suddenly living in a wide, mostly empty apartment with running water and a flushing toilet and electric lights, a telephone and a television set, and slightly musty-smelling, but warm, bedroll. (Honestly, he probably would've taken a heap of hay that smelled like shit if it meant being warm and having a meal.) And the place was quiet enough, in spite of being in the heart of Kabukicho.

His wounds were healing up - he'd always healed fast.

Otose had dropped by to check up on him again, cigarette in hand as she stood on the front stoop. A few small flakes of snow making their way over the railing and melting quickly.

"Make sure you get the rent to me by the twenty-seventh, Sakata." She was saying.

Gintoki waved the old woman away. "I've already got a job starting next week, don't worry about it." It was true that he did have a job. Although he was pretty sure part-time construction work wouldn't rake in much.

"I'll have some dinner downstairs again tonight and you're welcome to help yourself." She added with a brief smile as she headed away - not pausing to hear his slightly softer "Thanks."

Gintoki still had nightmares and occasionally woke up, gasping, in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. Or felt himself grabbing for a non-existent sword if a ship loudly rumbled by overhead or even if an Amanto glanced at him in the street sometimes - certain he would be recognized.

It was still draining, living like this. But it was better than it had been before.

He wasn't going to think back anymore. Living in the present was enough for right now. He would just slowly build things up again. (Replace the scratchy, old winter hanten he wore and definitely find a rice cooker, for starters.)

To distract himself, he settled down onto the tatami with a blanket and switched on the TV, ignoring the snow outside and memories and looming darkness from the heavy clouds.

"…Looks like more snowfall over Edo for tomorrow and the rest of the week." The beaming weather-lady, Ketsuno Ana, was saying. "Stay tuned and we'll give you a detailed report!"

"How can she smile about that?" Gintoki grumbled aloud, settling deeper into his blankets.

But he somehow found that he couldn't help smiling, too.


	5. Afterwards

_Do be warned, SPOILERS for recent manga events! Sorry if this is a little incoherent. _

_I deleted the chapter prior to this because I wasn't very satisfied with it, sorry for the inconvenience!_

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><p>"I'm sorry, Miss, but she still doesn't feel much like seeing anyone." Maizou insisted, his gray head bowed, faintly tremulous with age, and eyes downcast.<p>

Kagura shifted uneasily in the gravel at the gate of the house her friend was now staying at. Finally, she nodded and left without a word.

Walking along the road in the evening shadows of the surrounding wall, she made a sharp turn, quickly hurrying to the back entrance.

It wasn't the same way the palace had been. There were only four guards, now, and Kagura managed to slip in without notice, although she nearly got stuck in the azalea hedge a few times.

Needless to say, it probably startled Soyo a little when her friend suddenly appeared, rapping at her door, covered in twigs and leaves.

"What are you doing here?" Soyo gasped after sliding open the panel, blinking in surprise and confusion at the other girl.

"We-llll…" Kagura shrugged slightly. Her plans had played out slightly better in her head than this. "I wanted to come see you." She stated simply.

"I did say I didn't want any visitors." Soyo said quietly.

"I know, but…" Kagura frowned, "I didn't really want you to be alone. I guess." She glanced back at the yard behind her. "Do you mind if I come in? I think the guards are making another round soon."

Soyo hesitated momentarily, but she eventually nodded, helping her friend through the doorway and into her room, kicking off her shoes in the process.

"I can't believe you snuck in." Soyo said in a mildly scolding tone. Although she appeared to be holding back a small smile. A considerably lighter expression than she'd shown in a while, Kagura noted.

"I have my ways, y'know." Kagura said airily.

"I assume 'your ways' mean crawling through the shrubbery to get here." Soyo snorted as she began picking leaves out of Kagura's hair. Kagura made no reply.

Neither one spoke for a while, simply sitting upon the tatami as Soyo removed the last of the debris from Kagura, tossing it aside in a pile.

"I know you didn't really want to see anyone… and I guess it isn't very nice to invade your privacy like this. But, like I said, I didn't think you should be alone." Kagura spoke up, reiterating her reasoning.

"Well." Soyo sighed, scooting forward to sit next to her. "I just wanted some time to think. Everything's changed and it's a lot to take in right now. It's all been a little overwhelming."

"I know." Kagura said evenly.

"I don't think you quite understand." Soyo contended. "I nearly died. The government has fallen apart, my home is gone, my title is gone, my… my brother is gone." Her voice broke at the end of her words. "He died right in front of me. It's better that I just try to sort this out in my head right now."

Kagura turned her gaze to the woven flooring, "I know it's not quite the same situation, but my mom died when I was younger - in front of me, too. She'd been sick for a while. My dad and brother left, so I had take care of things myself… and it was really difficult. I didn't have anyone there for me. Not really any friends, either. I thought I might have a better chance of figuring things out on Earth… and I did! But…" Kagura turned to face her, "I couldn't have done it all alone - and I don't want you to be alone, either."

Soyo was silent for a long moment, until Kagura noticed her shoulders shaking, small sobs eventually breaking through the quiet.

Kagura placed an arm around her. Soyo threw her arms around Kagura in return, hugging her back tightly.

"Okay." Soyo said.


End file.
